FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WESLEY WILLIS 1963-2003
A statement from one of his biggest fans, Jello Biafra:

We lost Wesley Willis some time before 9PM Chicago time August 21,
2003. Word is he died peacefully. The likely cause may be heart
failure. Wesley had been battling leukemia for close to a year. There
will probably be a memorial concert, or at least a gathering in his
honor in Chicago in the near future.

Wesley will go down as one of the
most unique songwriters and entertainment personalities in history.
His music, lyrics, drawings, insight and the way he put them together
are like no one else. Ever. There will never be another.

As I got to
know Wesley, what really struck me was his sheer will power, his
unrelenting drive to succeed and over come a horrifically poor
background, child abuse, racism, chronic schizophrenia and obesity
among other things. He was the most courageous person I have ever
known. Yet through it all he had such a deep, all-encompassing love of
life. Little things, big things. He loved bus rides. He loved watching
trains. He loved writing songs about how much he loved his friends. He
loved travelling to new towns so he could headbutt new friends. Is
there any band he saw that escaped being in their own song about how
much he loved their show? He was so warm, so sweet, so giving. He
could be a handful when he came to visit; but as soon as he left, we'd
miss him immediately.

As his long time friend Dennis Cooper said, "No
More Demons." The voices in Wesley's head can't yell at him and put
him down any more. Wes was deeply religious. He was afraid that if he
died he would no longer get to go see bands play. If there is a
hereafter I hope he's right up front as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray
Vaughn, his beloved Otis Redding and his dear friend Bradley from
Sublime "storm the stage" as the crowd "roars like a sea monster." All
opening for Wesley, of course.

It will be hard now that he's gone, but
I'm not going to let myself stop enjoying the funny stuff, or the look
on people's faces when they first hear "Rock n Roll McDonald's," or
the memories of the good times and Wesley's big adventures. He
wouldn't want it any other way. There are many down times when all I
have to do is think of one of his songs, something he said or simply
marvel at his Wesley-isms, and the clouds part and a smile comes to my
face. I think he does that for a lot of people. He always will.

Wesley was my brother, and i never new the bounds of his music. We were
all in foster homes as children and until i was 17 had never spent
much time with him..sure we had visits but they were all supervised so
we never got to play and frolic like children did. People take things
for granted like having a mom and dad a feeling of security that all
children should feel, we didn't have that, but thru all the adversity
we rise.

Wesley was 20 when he got his first keyboard it was a casio .
It was so small in his hands he could barely hit the keys , so when he
sold another drawing he would get another one bigger than the last !
Wesley also loved listening to rock bands like The
scorpions,BonJovi,Pink floyd,the cure, many others.He would ask our
brothers Steven and Walter to play songs for him to dance to,and they
would play them all night they had record collections that would rival
Dr.Wax!! He would hold his arms out to his sides like he was flying
and bounce around like he was on fireand would sing so loud !!

He also
had a love for clocks as well. One day he came home with a school
clock ,so i asked him why don't you get a wristwatch not realizing his
wrists are large he said "cause i like it " so that was that:)

Our
mother was very abusive and an alchoholic. she would take his money and
drink herself to sleep for what reason i never knew. Roger Lee was
her recent boyfriend at the time . he was far from being a model
citizen, he would have my older brothers running back and fourth to
the liquor store all night long !! He was the straw that broke up our
already fractured home ..

But Wesley, Walter, Steven, Richard were the
backbone of my teen years they tought me to appreciate life no matter
how hard it was living in the projects. We were always under ridicule
by the people there, getting robbed life was very hard, but thru it all
wesley reached for his brass ring and headbutted it! PROVING WHERE
THERE'S A WILLIS THERE'S A WAY!!!to all of his fans/friend god bless
you for the kind words you have for my brother >ROCK ON CHICAGO ROCK
OVER LONDON!!!you gave music and memories never to be forgotten! i'll
see you soon so save me a seat !!

Michael Willis

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"where there's a willis, there's a way"

rock on.
-adam

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WESLEY WILLIS, 40
--------------------

Rock singer-songwriter, painter

By Gayle Worland
Tribune staff reporter
August 23, 2003

Standing 6-feet-5 and weighing more than 300 pounds, Wesley Willis cut
an imposing figure as he would lumber up to a stranger on the street
with some 200 self-produced compact discs stuffed into cases under his
arms.

"Hi, I'm Wesley Willis," he would address them with his trademark
charm. "I'm a rock star! I'm glad to meet you!"

One of the most colorful characters on the Chicago club circuit, Mr.
Willis, 40, began his musical career with guitarist Dale Meiners in the
early 1990s. Soon their band, Wesley Willis Fiasco, was opening for
punk/ska headliners Sublime in shows across the U.S.

Mr. Willis' music was repetitive, direct and relentlessly
unpretentious. For some, said Tamara Smith, a close friend for 12 years, "it's an
acquired taste."

His lyrics, like his stage shows, were pithy, off the cuff and often
hilarious. Mr. Willis toured tirelessly, and his three-chord rants drew
fans ranging from frat-house partyers to internationally known post-punk
stars.

At least four film documentaries have been made about his life, career
and the "demon" voices that schizophrenia had planted in his head.

"He was the most courageous person I have ever known," wrote
free-speech icon Jello Biafra, founder of the Dead Kennedys, on the Web site for
the Alternative Tentacles label that released two of Mr. Willis' latest
albums. "As I got to know Wes, what really struck me was his sheer will
power, his unrelenting drive to succeed. ... Yet through it all, he had
such a deep, all-encompassing love of life."

Mr. Willis greeted every acquaintance with a "Rrrrah!" followed by a
"gentle, look-me-in-the-eye sort of head butt," said Carla Winterbottom,
a close friend and former roommate. Though some critics feared Mr.
Willis' innocent ways could lead to exploitation, friends tried to look out
for him and respected his joy onstage.

"Wes really, really loved being a rock artist," said Smith.

"He had a way to get into the goodness of people and win them over,"
said his brother Jerry, a freelance deejay. "Even with the culture of
music now, where this person sounds just like that person, I don't think
there's anyone else whose music you can compare with Wesley's."

Mr. Willis is also survived by his parents, Walter and Annie Ellington
Willis; two sisters, Tyrieda and Marcella; and five other brothers,
Walter Jr., Ricky, Michael, James and Steve.

Friends will gather from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Intuit: The Center for
Intuitive & Outsider Art, 756 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, where some of
Mr. Willis' pen-and-marker cityscapes are on display. Visitation will
be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at John Rago Sons Funeral Home, 721
N. Western Ave., Chicago, followed by a memorial service at a date to be
determined.Copyright (c) 2003, Chicago Tribune

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All of our Friends, It's a sad day and a sad email, because last night
we lost the big man. I saw him a month ago, and although his health was
poor, he was as funny as ever. Seeing him helped me prepare for this,
but the more I think about all the fun we had, the more it sinks in.
I'm really going to miss him. Considering his beginings in housing
projects, to releasing 50 CD's, countless paintings, and touring the
world, he's the one in a million that made it. I wonder how many people
he made happy, laugh, and changed their lives. Hopefully he's in heaven
with Pat (Fiasco Guitarist) having a blast. Dale Meiners

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I was really sorry to hear the news about Wesley. He deserved many more
years of life and making music. I never got to meet him, but he
certainly seems to have made one hell of an impression on everyone who
did.
Max Decharne - Flaming Stars